


Khrysopos

by paxfacere (flamiekitten)



Series: Zagnos / Hypzag Month 2021 [1]
Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Blushing, Crushes, Fluff, Himbo Behaviour, M/M, Pre-Relationship, can be read as romantic or platonic, includes artwork, no beta we die like zagreus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29849658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamiekitten/pseuds/paxfacere
Summary: Khrysopos(adj.) with golden eyes or face.Zagreus witnesses Hypnos' blush for the first time.
Relationships: Hypnos & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Hypnos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Series: Zagnos / Hypzag Month 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2194530
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	Khrysopos

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [@HypZagMonth](https://twitter.com/HypZagMonth) event on Twitter. 
> 
> Inspired by the prompt: _Golden_.

For all of its magnificence and splendour, the sun had failed to leave much of a positive impact on Zagreus. That it was _impressive_ was certainly true; he would never forget his first dawn, watching sunlight spill like ten thousand obols over the lip of the horizon.

It was what happened next that soured the entire spectacle.

Born and raised in the muted flicker of torch- and candlelight, the Prince had been wholly unprepared. As the light's strength increased, it started to make his eyes water and smart with its sheer intensity -- so much so that the mere act of looking around became tainted by discomfort. With each "successful" escape from the Underworld, it became increasingly more apparent just how ill-suited Zagreus was to the mortal realm. Eventually, he would come to the reluctant conclusion that the too-brilliant glory of sunshine was simply not meant for the likes of him.

Until the day he saw Hypnos blush for the very first time.

If he hadn't been waving it back and forth in front of his face as he spoke, Zagreus might have never noticed the various doodles that liberally decorated the margins of Hypnos' scroll. But as Zagreus caught a glimpse of one _particularly_ _elaborate_ illustration, he reached out to grab the edge of the register and tug it closer for a better look. Despite Hypnos' yelp of, "woah _woah_ , that's _confidential information_!", the Prince could not tear his gaze away. With a slow grin twitching at the corners of his mouth, he traced the tip of an index finger across the surface of the parchment and drank in every little detail of… well.

"This is a drawing of _me_ , isnt it?" he said, grin kicking into full bloom. "Wow -- Hypnos, this is _incredible_. I've seen you scribbling away when you thought no one was looking, but I never realised we had a real artistic talent right here in the House! I mean, the level of detail here, you must have really _studied_ me every time I--"

Zagreus glanced up, fully prepared to continue to wax lyrical about this discovery, but was promptly stunned into open-mouthed silence.

The blue-grey pallor of Hypnos' cheeks had lit up with a warm, golden glow that -- very endearingly -- swept back as far as the tips of his ears. Shoulders bunched up and chin tucked into the fur ruff of his mantle, Hypnos stared at him with eyes wide behind snow-white lashes. Having only ever caught glances of them, sleepy and half-lidded like twin crescent moons peeking beneath the cloud curls of his hair, Zagreus felt like he was seeing them properly for the first time.

Golden, again.

Golden as the ichor in his veins and the blush that dusted his cheekbones.

Golden as that first glimpse of dawn, rising slowly over distant dancing waves.

(Retrospect would later have Zagreus wondering why he'd been so affected by the sight when this particular feature was also shared with both Hypnos' mother and his twin brother.)

His grip on the parchment loosened and then fell away entirely. Hypnos promptly rolled the register up with a throat-clearing " _a-hem_!", before unceremoniously stuffing it back into the depths of his cloak. The discordant click of Zagreus' teeth as he finally snapped them shut bounced about inside of his skull. It joined, in cacophonous harmony, with the static buzz of the single thought that had been steadily reverberating around in there the entire time.

… _Has Hypnos_ always _been this beauti_ \--

" _Well_ , you're all checked in! Welcome back! Thanks for dying! See you next time!"

Having concluded their conversation in the usual manner -- more like several of the usual manners all strung together -- Hypnos kicked back midair and tugged his eyemask down with an air of finality.

For all of his oft-lamented stubbornness, Zagreus did in fact know how to take a hint: this discussion was over.

"Ah… right. Right. See you next time, Hypnos."

Before the following silence could stretch any further into downright awkward territory, Zagreus put the distance of two quick, flame-licked dashes between himself and the Great Hall. With just another dash he would be around the corner and out of sight, but then guilt twisted like a nest of scyllascion in the pit of his stomach and gave him pause. He should have apologised for snatching the register, at the very least.

Grimacing and turning on the spot (thank the gods Nyx wasn't present in her usual corner and was therefore absent for all of this) Zagreus only managed a single step before grinding to a hault for the -- _second? or was it a third?_ \-- time.

Hypnos had pushed half of the mask up again, a single eye fixed on Zagreus' somewhat flustered face. One hand kept the mask pinned to his forehead, while the other lifted in a lazy wave that barely more than a wriggle of his fingertips. He was _smiling_ ; albeit a little more subdued than his usual full-mouthed grins, but still smiling nonetheless. The wave turned into a shooing motion that held no real malice -- more of a _go on, get going!_ than a _get out of my sight_ \-- and Zagreus couldn't help but laugh at himself.

The scyllascion knot unravelled itself and all the tension melted away. Offering a wave and a relieved smile in return, Zagreus carried on to his room and then the courtyard beyond with an undeniable spring in his stride.

That he picked up a certain coin purse for his next security run was pure, incidental coincidence.

Zagreus stood on the precipice, sore and aching still from yet another final fight, gazing towards the unreachable distance where sky met sea. The inevitability of his death always put a bit of a dampener on the thrill of Zagreus' victory, but the view went a long way towards soothing his tired soul.

As though by the Fate's design, he was -- once again -- just in time for the sunrise.

He lifted a hand to shield his eyes, already squinting; it was just as borderline unbearable the forty-eighth time as it was the first. It dazzled his sensitive eyes and left him seeing spots even behind closed lids, taking a step back as though he could escape the sun's glare and--

Disturbed by his movements, the now-meagre contents of the purse that hung from his belt _clink_ ed gently together. Zagreus let out a slow breath, hand dropping down by his side. The purse was a familiar weight in his palm, its fabric soft and comforting to the touch. Light continued to dance within the darkness of his tightly shut eyelids, but the irritation he felt was swiftly eclipsed by a recent pleasant memory.

A memory of golden-tinged cheeks and two eyes as bright and round as coins.

Soon, it would be all over -- one way or another. His lifeless body would float downstream, carried along on the surface of a blood red river, into a realm that had never known the light of the sun.

But knowing someone-- knowing _Hypnos_ would be there, waiting for him to come home, was worth a thousand dawns.

And much easier on the eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Artwork by my wonderful wife, [@obernatos](https://twitter.com/obernatos).
> 
> Gold leaf dividers from [The Style Index](https://thestyleindex.com/product/gold-foil-leaf-border/).
> 
>  **Please note** I am currently not looking for criticism, constructive or otherwise, on my work. This piece was written for free, for fun, and to help spread the word about this lovely ship. Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading. ♥


End file.
